Civil War Road Trip
by ShortySC22
Summary: Part of the Power Stayed On series. Bass and Connor take a road trip along the East Coast to some of the Civil War sites.


**This is part of the Power Stayed On series. The only story that might be necessary to read is "Homecoming" where Miles and Bass find out about Connor. In current time, Emma and Connor live in Jasper and Miles and Bass live together in Virgina. This was written as part of the RevoRedux AU prompt fest on LJ.**

_June 2017_

Bass had been looking forward to Connor's visit this summer. Usually when Connor visited, they just spent the week touring DC, sitting around the house watching TV and movies, and generally just staying close to home. This year, Bass wanted to do something a little different and had planned an epic road trip for the two of them. Emma had mentioned that this year's history subject was US History I, which was US History to just after the Civil War. This was the perfect time to introduce Connor to Bass's own fascination with the Civil War and also spend some bonding time with his son. Nothing like several hours in a car with nothing but them and the open road.

Emma and Connor were flying in late Sunday night and then Emma was heading to New York for a conference while Bass and Connor were leaving early Monday morning to start out in Charleston, South Carolina. Knowing that Connor would probably get bored if the whole trip was just about history, Bass decided they'd spend two nights in Charleston, two nights in Myrtle Beach, and then head up to Appomattox and Petersburg before spending the last bit of the trip in Alexandria.

Bass thought about incorporating college tours into this road trip because that was what Emma would want, but he'd rather make this just a nice father-son bonding trip. There would be plenty of time for college tours. He'd definitely start to talk to Connor about what his plans were for college, but Bass wouldn't pressure him just yet, leave all that up to Emma, the responsible parent.

Bass wasn't surprised when their flight was late, any time they had a flight that wasn't the first one in the morning, it was late. He didn't mind so much, he just hoped Connor would be able to get up early because he wanted to leave at 6 AM to be in Charleston by 2 PM. There was absolutely nothing special on these highways, just barren open highway traveling on I-95 until they hit I-26. Since he'd be tired from all of the driving, the plan was just to walk around downtown Charleston until dinner and then head over to the Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball game.

Luckily the airport wasn't crowded by the time he got there to pick them up and Emma cheerfully filled him in on what was new in her life, mostly dealing with work. They usually avoided asking too many personal questions and for that, Bass was grateful. Connor had his headphones in and was quietly sitting in the back. Bass would have to break Connor of that habit. It was bad enough he had to drive; Bass needed company to help him stay focused. He almost wished Miles was coming along, but Miles was spending time with Charlie this week.

In the morning, Emma decided she'd make them a nice breakfast, even though Bass had insisted it would just slow them down. He really just wanted to get on the open road. This was not how he planned it, not at all. At least Connor was used to Bass's idiosyncrasies and just grabbed a travel mug and frozen waffles, none of this eggs and bacon nonsense. Emma realized she was outnumbered and ate her eggs, bacon, and toast while Bass loaded up the car.

They dropped Emma off at the Metro so she could take the train up to New York and she'd meet them back here to fly back with Connor. After some quick good-byes at the station, it was finally time for just the two of them.

Of course, Connor had his headphones in. Bass didn't know the best way to approach this. He remembered some of the arguments he got into with his father at Connor's age, and the fights between Miles and Mr. Matheson were quite legendary. But Bass didn't want that with him and Connor, he had already missed so much of his life.

"Mind pulling the headphones out? It's just the two of us for several hours. I've got a road trip playlist, plus we haven't talked in a while, just us."

"That's because Mom's always listening in."

"Well she's not here now."

"Dad, it's 6:30 AM. Can we stop for another cup of coffee and then get into the deep stuff?" Connor asked and Bass could feel the annoyance coming off of him.

Yeah, this probably wasn't how the kid wanted to spend the beginning of his summer break, but this was how Bass always started road trips, bright and early so he didn't waste any time. It was a family tradition and he was just continuing it with his son. He thought back to the last road trip he had taken with his family during one of his leaves, when his dad kept threatening to the pull the car over because Angela and Cynthia had been arguing and Bass was just egging them on. He missed his family. He saw a sign for Dunkin Donuts at the next exit and pulled off, grabbing a large coffee for himself and a small one for Connor – he didn't need the kid wired up.

"Highway to Hell" by AC/DC played in the background followed by "Ramblin Man" by the Allman Brothers Band, "Bat Outta Hell" by Meat Loaf, and "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen before Connor spoke up.

"What kind of playlist is this?"

"Miles and I started building songs we liked to listen to while driving and we've just added to it over the years. It's on shuffle so it's completely random."

"Maybe you should update your playlist," Connor suggested.

"Not happening," Bass answered just as "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen came on. He looked over at Connor, who was shaking his head and muttering.

"Why am I not surprised this song is on here?"

"That song is what will get an entire car or room to sing at the top of their lungs. Never doubt the power of Bohemian Rhapsody in a crowd," Bass said, fondly remembering some crazy nights singing along in a bar. "Listen, there's pretty much absolutely nothing from Petersburg down until almost Fayetteville and even that's not much. Sleep, whatever."

"Don't pull that now, I just had two cups of coffee," Connor said.

"Fine. Since you won't talk about it over the phone since Mom's listening, any girlfriends?"

"Oh, start right with that. Nothing serious," Connor answered, blushing. Bass noticed this and just wondered how serious it was.

"You're being careful, right?" Bass cautiously said, not sure how to broach this topic with his son.

"Oh, like you're one to talk. I know you and Mom weren't together and were just friends."

"There's a little more to it than that," Bass said, not sure if now was the right time to bring up why he and Emma were never together or why she couldn't tell him about Connor. Might as well just get it over with. "Your mom and Miles were engaged at the time. The three of us were thick as thieves."

Connor looked at Bass's face before slumping down in the seat, shaking his head. "Wait, what? My mom and Miles? And she cheated on him with his best friend? And you're all still friends now? I'm a result of an affair? That's so much worse than being a result of a one night stand."

"You deserve the truth. Miles and I didn't know about you until he spotted you in Jasper. By then, what was done, was done and there was no changing the past. Don't hold this against your mom."

"You know, you and Miles say that a lot. It's what he said when I found out she had lied about you in the first place."

"Well, great minds."

"Do you mind if we don't talk and just listen to music? I need some time to think," Connor asked and Bass realized just how much of a bombshell he had dropped on his son and without consulting Emma first. Oh well, kid's 15 now, he should be old enough to understand that everything has its consequences.

Respecting Connor's wishes, Bass turned up the travel playlist, not wanting to mess with the radio since they were nearing Petersburg and the radio stations were either Spanish, hip hop, or country this far south of DC. He figured he'd make peace by stopping in Emporia, VA for gas, bathroom break, and food, hoping Connor would open up. Instead, it just seemed to make Connor tired and he ended up falling asleep from Emporia to Fayetteville, NC. Bass thought stopping near Fayetteville would give them the opportunity to eat at somewhere nicer than just Sonic or McDonalds, but they ended up at a roadside restaurant. At least they were waited on and the food was good. Service was fast, which surprised Bass. Connor was still sulking and Bass wanted him to snap out of it. It was times like these that Bass wished he had his father around to ask for fatherly advice. He was just making this up as he went along and obviously wasn't doing the best job.

Back in the car, Bass took a look at the GPS and noticed they were running a little bit later than he had planned, but that was okay since the only thing they had planned for tonight was the baseball game at 7 PM. They'd still get there in plenty of time for dinner and walking King Street, maybe buying Emma some cute souvenir at the open air market there.

Bass decided if he wanted any conversation, he'd have to be the one to start it. "You know, this isn't easy for me either. I missed so many of your important milestones and even now, I only get to see you a couple times a year. On top of it, this makes me miss my own dad. Before my sisters were born, he and I used to go on an annual camping trip, just the two of us."

"You don't talk much about your parents and neither does Mom. She said she didn't know them that well and Grandma only has nice things to say about them and only wishes she had known about it, she would have gone to the funerals."

"My parents were great. I always wish I had one more day with them, just one more to tell them how much I loved them. If there's one thing I know, it's that they would have loved you and would have attributed all of your good qualities to Emma. But our road trips were definitely not as quiet as this," he said as he started to remember the shrieks of his sisters, his parents debating work and politics and how he loved staring out the window wondering what was beyond what he could see. When they had started the trip from Jasper, he always thought how flat it was and it wasn't until he came east that he never how hilly it was, which was nothing in comparison to driving around California.

Connor then started opening about his classes, which subjects he liked, how he thought the year went and Bass thought it was the perfect time to bring up colleges. Connor obviously did not agree, saying he got enough pressure from Mom about it. Bass dropped the subject for now, since they were just outside of Charleston and about to check into the hotel. It was a basic room, two beds, a bathroom, nothing special. They dropped their luggage before heading downtown. Bass remembered enjoying the open air market the last time he was here and loved walking around historical Charleston which still retained a lot of the feel of the antebellum South. Unfortunately, it was a ridiculously hot and humid day, which was just a typical South Carolina June day.

While they were walking around downtown Charleston, Bass dragged Connor into the old US Custom House. They were lucky enough to just catch a tour that was just starting. Even though the Custom House wasn't relevant to the Civil War - it was a part of the Revolutionary War, Bass thought it was still impressive to learn just how important Charleston was to the beginning of the United States.

For dinner, Bass chose to take Connor to some seafood place that had come highly recommended. Of course he couldn't remember the name, but everyone had told him Charleston was the place for good food and eat up.

If there was one thing Bass loved, it was going to a minor league baseball game. The tickets were cheap, the food was cheap, and you could actually see the game. The stadiums weren't even large enough to have nosebleed seats. Since he had known about the trip far enough in advance, he had managed to get great seats behind home plate. The RiverDogs were playing the Greenville Drive tonight. Bass and Connor didn't have a team they cared about, they only wanted to watch a good game of baseball. Luckily for them, the game didn't go into any extra innings, so they'd be able to go to sleep early after being up early to drive. The next day was the start of the Civil War history, starting at the place where it had all begun at Fort Sumter.

Bass was looking forward to the tour at Fort Sumter since it was going to be a nice day, not nearly as humid as the day before. The tour boat was scheduled to depart from the SC Aquarium at 9:30AM, they'd spend the morning walking around the historical island and be back in time to do lunch at the Aquarium and spend the afternoon at the Aquarium. Bass thought walking along the Battery at night would be nice, since they were going to leave after breakfast to head to Myrtle Beach. He didn't want to overschedule their vacation, but he wanted to share his own interests with his son and what better way than to see where the Civil War had started and ended?

After all the walking, Bass could tell Connor was tired and was glad that it wasn't a long drive to Myrtle Beach and that they'd spend most of the day just lying on the beach. His son was way too pale, a little sun wouldn't kill him. The drive from Charleston to Myrtle Beach was only a little over two hours, so Bass left the travel playlist go while Connor slept. There wasn't much to see but at least they weren't driving on an interstate this time. Bass found that when he drove on the interstate he got somewhere faster, but he also had more road rage yelling at the stupid drivers who drove too slow in the left lane and didn't understand the way drivers did on the smaller back roads.

Bass found a hotel right on the beach. Check in went smoothly and after changing, they headed out to sit outside and soak up some sun. Growing up in Jasper, Bass usually only spent time by the lakeside and always loved the completely different atmosphere of the ocean, that salt breeze blowing past. He noticed a volleyball game going on. He loved playing, but wasn't sure how Connor would react. The others playing volleyball looked to be about Connor's age, maybe by joining the group, it could help break him out of whatever shell he was in. They spent the rest of the afternoon alternating between volleyball, swimming in the ocean, and lounging out.

This plan worked a little too well, since now Bass was going to be alone for dinner because the friends they had made while playing volleyball had asked Connor out to join them for dinner and some fun that night. He couldn't really get mad, considering it was his own idea. As long as Connor was having fun, he'd just find some bar and go to bed. He handed the hotel key off to Connor and told him to be back by 1 AM.

Bass pulled Connor off to the side before leaving and whispered, "If you need me for any reason, bail you out, whatever, call me. I will come and get you, no questions asked." Whether or not Connor was going to listen to that was another story, but at least he offered.

When he woke up in the morning, he looked around, panicked at first that the sun was coming up but then noticed Connor was sleeping soundly in his bed. He debated waking him up, but they were in no rush; it was another day at the beach followed by a dinner show at the Pirates Voyage. Originally when Bass had visited Myrtle Beach as a kid, it had been the Dixie Stampede dinner show that pit the North versus South in an epic battle, but it had changed since then. Either way, it would still be an entertaining meal, but the Dixie Stampede would have fit with the theme of the Civil War much better.

After eating, Bass woke Connor up and said he'd meet him on the beach whenever he was ready. The friends they had made yesterday were still playing volleyball but Bass took the quiet time he had this morning to read. Miles had been yammering on about reading "The Stand" and since it was pretty much the only book Miles ever mentioned, Bass figured he'd give a try. Of course this was before he saw how many pages, but eh, he had a couple of hours to kill. Connor finally joined him around lunch time and since Connor had missed breakfast, they decided to walk around and grab a bite to eat before playing volleyball in the afternoon.

Bass tried to get Connor to tell him what happened last night, but he was pretty tight-lipped about it, saying they just hung out around the beach. Bass dropped the subject, figuring it wasn't worth an argument. When they went back out to play volleyball, everyone seemed much friendlier and he figured it had something to do with them all hanging out last night. Seeing Connor like this reminded him of high school, all he needed now was Miles and Emma on the sidelines.

Dinner that night was entertaining and Connor was confused at first with the premise of pirates fighting but seemed to enjoy himself. Bass was glad they weren't spending too much time in Myrtle Beach, he could see his son getting too used to being the center of attention; Connor had definitely inherited the good features from Emma and him and passed over the whole awkward looking teenage phase.

After spending two days in the sun, Bass was tired. They walked around the Broadway at the Beach after dinner, stopping to enjoy some ice cream before heading back to the hotel and sleeping. Tomorrow they'd head off after lunch to Appomattox and arrive just in time for dinner. He had booked a nice bed & breakfast for something different.

On the car ride to Appomattox, Bass gave the history of the Court House, how it was where the Confederate Army surrendered to the Union Army and there was never a treaty ending the war because then it would have meant that the US legitimized the Confederacy, which would have given it certain legal status internationally. Bass explained that the Battle of Petersburg was what really led to the surrender because the Confederates were cut off from heading into Richmond. Connor asked why they were going to Appomattox first then and Bass responded that it was because Petersburg was on their way home.

There really wasn't much to do in Appomattox besides touring the Court House and hiking the trails. The plan was to spend the morning walking the site, eat an early lunch back at the bed & breakfast and drive to Petersburg before it closed and head home as soon as the park closed. By now Bass could see Connor wasn't as enthusiastic about the history of the Civil War, but at least he had balanced the trip by spending two days in Myrtle Beach.

Bass was glad he had planned most of the driving outside of rush hour and that they'd be doing the last bit of driving back to Alexandria late Saturday night, hopefully there would be no traffic as they approached the Beltway. The Beltway was always so unpredictable; well, other than there would definitely be traffic during rush hour and possibly any other time of day.

Bass turned to Connor, who for once hadn't put the headphones first before taking them out when he glared at his son.

"Well, did you have fun this trip? I know it was a bit different from your usual visit," Bass started.

"I did. Well I don't quite share your passion for history, sorry," Connor answered honestly.

"That's okay, Miles doesn't get it most of the time, either. It's just you and me tonight, your mom's train doesn't come in until tomorrow."

"I have a question for you," Connor said and Bass noticed his hesitation. He wondered what Connor could possibly want.

"Sure, and I can try to answer."

"Will you teach me how to drive? I want to learn but Mom's way too paranoid and she'd make me more nervous."

"Absolutely not around here. If your mom says yes to using her car when I come out in August to visit, I will teach you. There's way too many people around here and if I get caught, it could be a bit of a problem, but I know they won't say anything in Jasper. Sounds good?"

"Sounds fair to me. Next time, can we just skip the history lesson and head straight for the beach?" Connor asked. Bass ruffled Connor's hair and laughed.

"There's absolutely no doubt that you're my son. I had my mind on one thing at your age, too, and it was definitely not spending time with my old man touring Civil War sites, that's for sure."


End file.
